 and some interesting intel gleaned from a former employee.My source said he was constantly amazed while working at Babylonstoren that cost was never a consideration, because the South African couple's only concern was quality. That doesn't mean conspicuous consumption but stealth wealth, where it's the little things that really count. So, for example, at the Newt I'm almost ashamed to admit I found myself ridiculously excited by the bathroom taps, of all things. Don't judge me until you've wrapped your fingers around a fitting from Samuel Heath and appreciated how the ordinary can be elevated to the exceptional.The duo's limitless funds and uncompromising attitude had already ensured the 500-acre Babylonstoren estate — the conversion of an 18th-century Cape Dutch farm ten minutes from Franschhoek — had an award-winning vineyard and farm supplying Babel, its equally garlanded restaurant. Plus bedrooms so stylish they are worthy of a centre spread in the desi){kind=link}
The Newt in Somerset has been the UK’s hottest holiday destination since it opened in 2019 thanks to an imaginative approach to hospitality centred around its extraordinary gardens and working farm. That’s impressive, but not quite a match for its mothership, Babylonstoren in the Cape Winelands, which has been South Africa’s number one hideaway for more than 12 years.
Babylonstoren has been on my wish list ever since I discovered it was the blueprint for the Newt’s two hotels – the 17th-century manor house Hadspen, which was Travel’s Hotel of the Year in 2019, and the more contemporary Farmyard, which opened in 2021 and is another of my favourites. The news that the owners, the telecoms billionaire Koos Bekker and his wife, Karen Roos, a former editor of the South African imprint of Elle Decoration, have recently unveiled a raft of post-lockdown improvements provided yet more incentive to visit, especially combined with favourable exchange rates (the rand is one of the few currencies sterling is bossing right now) and some interesting intel gleaned from a former employee.
My source said he was constantly amazed while working at Babylonstoren that cost was never a consideration, because the South African couple’s only concern was quality. That doesn’t mean conspicuous consumption but stealth wealth, where it’s the little things that really count. So, for example, at the Newt I’m almost ashamed to admit I found myself ridiculously excited by the bathroom taps, of all things. Don’t judge me until you’ve wrapped your fingers around a fitting from Samuel Heath and appreciated how the ordinary can be elevated to the exceptional.
The duo’s limitless funds and uncompromising attitude had already ensured the 500-acre Babylonstoren estate – the conversion of an 18th-century Cape Dutch farm ten minutes from Franschhoek – had an award-winning vineyard and farm supplying Babel, its equally garlanded restaurant. Plus bedrooms so stylish they are worthy of a centre spread in the design bible Roos used to edit.
For good measure, Babylonstoren is also home to the Versailles of vegetable gardens, even featuring an apple tree cultivated from the very one Isaac Newton was sitting under when he formulated his gravitational law. What could they have found to improve?